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The Siege of Virnduhr
The Siege of Virnduhr occurred during the Autumn of Year 0 AGC. The Empire had eyed Virnduhr's wealth for decades, and now felt strong enough to strike. The Raider's Bounty braved the artillery and rune-magic of Virnduhr's defenders and ultimately overwhelmed the defenders despite heavy losses. The Opening Stages The airforce of Virnduhr sallied forth to attack the siege weapons of the Soleirians, destroying a battering ram that had positioned itself in front of the main gate. This risky ploy did not prevent the breaching of the gates, however, as the Soleirians had dug tunnels underneath the city, which they collapsed. With the gate section now providing little defense, the Soleirians lined up their Dread Knights for an assault. Recognising the terrible threat the knights presented, the defenders of Virnduhr unleashed salvo upon salvo of handgun and cannon fire. When the smoke cleared only 3 knights remained. The Soleirian Advance The oracle leading the raiders roared the command to advance on the city. On their right flank, the Soleirians pushed forward a hulking siege-tower while peppering the defenders with crossbow bolts. In the centre, the surviving Dread Knights were too dismayed to control their raptor mounts, and so stumbled forward aimlessly before being blasted to pieces by dwarven fire. Next to them a large regiment of Executioners marched forwards through the cover of the trees. A Grudge Buster and Attack Copter both floated over the walls to tie up the Soleirian advance. The Executioners made short work of the Grudge Buster, while the pilot of the copter managed to beat back a party of Dark Riders. On the Soleirian left flank, a reaper rapidly fired bolts at the defenders of a dwarven tower containing a brewery, seemingly slaying many. However, the drunken dwarves proved rather resilient, most recovering quickly from normally fatal wounds. Two more reapers fired their bolts at the volley-gun occupying the gates, destroying it completely. The Assault on the Walls After weathering another barrage of gunfire and throwing axes, the Soleirian forces smashed into the walls of Virnduhr. On their right flank, the siege tower swung its ramp onto the walls, and the Dread Legionnaires occupying it burst forth to face the Clan Warrior defenders. Following numerous bloody exchanges, the stubborn dwarves were finally slain. Nearby, the tower housing a bolt thrower and handgunners was overwhelmed by the ferocity of a group of warlocks who had dismounted and scaled the walls. The large regiment of Executioners butchered another group of dwarven defenders before slaying the battle standard bearer of Virnduhr and ejecting his unit from the gates! This caused the defenders of a neighbouring section to rout! The City Falls In the distance, three of Virnduhr's royalty - triplet princes - arrived in a desperate but valiant effort to relieve the city. One was immediately pin-cushioned by crossbow and reaper bolts, while a second was horrifically wounded, barely able to walk. This near-dead prince charged a lonely Raven Cloak and cut him in half, before succumbing to his wounds. The only surviving prince charged into a nearby unit of Repeater Auxiliaries, who he routed and chased off the battlefield. All of this bravado amounted to little. The gates and major wall sections were all in control of the besiegers. The dwarves who remained were slaughtered, though the drunken handgunners in the dwarf brew-tower held out for another day before being smoked out and executed. Virnduhr was now controlled by the Empire. Its residents were enslaved and forced to mine ore for their new masters.